Research Description

My primary research interest is in the evolution of complex behavioral traits such as communication and social behavior. Our goal is to understand how microevolutionary processes acting on a generation time scale (e.g., random genetic drift, selection, learning) translate into the macroevolutionary patterns we see in a set of interspecific data. Primarily, we strive to understand the evolutionary forces driving the evolution of communication and social behavior in lizards and fish. How do genetic and social factors interact over long periods of evolutionary time? Are major patterns of behavioral differentiation best explained by the strongest selective pressures or by those which are the most persistent, albeit sometimes weak?

Research in my lab combines comparative studies of communicative signals, empirical research on the social, genetic, hormonal, and chemical mechanisms underlying behavioral plasticity, and development of theoretical methods and software. Our comparative research focuses mostly on lizard headbob displays, spanning taxa in North America (spiny lizards: Sceloporus), the Caribbean (rock iguanas: Cyclura), South America (Liolaemus), and Africa (chameleons). Our studies of behavioral mechanisms began with Sceloporus lizards and include playback experiments with a robotic model (Fig. 2). We have also conducted several projects comparing the social behavior of Zebrafish (Fig. 1) from different Indian populations, making use of the wealth of genetic and developmental tools available to answer core questions in the evolution of complex traits. Among other things, we have studied multimodal signals, behavioral syndromes, and social networks.

We created several computer programs such as COMPARE which allows researchers to apply phylogenetic comparative methods to their own data, EthoBank, a public database for behavioral data (tables of numbers, figures, film clips, etc.), and SocANet, which calculates social network statistics. Our lab is also involved with EthoSource, an international effort to make behavioral data more easily accessible over the internet.

Select Publications

Vital C, Martins EP. 2013. Socially-central zebrafish influence group behavior more than those on the social periphery. PLOS One 8:355503. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055503 [article]